Cymande are back with new album Renascence, out now via BMG.
The UK funk pioneers’ new record is billed as a “spiritual and sonic follow-up” to their 1974 album Promised Heights. Collaborators on the new record include Celeste on Only One Way and DJ/producer Jazzie B (Soul II Soul) on How We Roll.
Their latest single Coltrane is a nod to the legacy of John Coltrane and demonstrates the band’s deep jazz influences.
Cymande never got the full recognition they deserved in their 1970s heyday but their influence on funk and hip-hop has helped to establish their name over the intervening years.
The group were honoured with the Originator Award at the Artist & Manager Awards in 2024, which also saw the release of their documentary Getting It Back: The Story Of Cymande. The funk veterans also recently made their UK TV debut on Later… With Jools Holland.
In addition to their US tour, which kicks off in New York City at Irving Plaza on February 13, Cymande have today announced a brand new European headline tour, with dates in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and more in the autumn. The band have confirmed a Manchester Albert Hall show (October 16) in addition to their previously announced hometown London date at O2 Academy Brixton (October 17).
Their performance on Craig Charles’ BBC Radio 6 Music show on January 30 will be followed by an appearance on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch (February 2). Banquet Records is hosting an outstore show from the band at Pryzm Kingston (February 3) with tickets and album bundles available from the record store’s online shop.
Here, manager Keith Hagan of Hall Of Fame Artists outlines the international ambitions for Cymande…
How are you building up to the release of the new Cymande album? What are the plans in terms of a global roll-out with new label partner BMG?
“The preparation for the release of this album and the resurgence for the group has been underway for years. We knew early on the key to our success moving forward was going to be properly lining up all of our assets: the documentary, new music and touring all perfectly with each other. One couldn’t get too far ahead of the other, and we needed the right label partner to help us execute all of this. BMG has been that partner since the band signed with them in 2023, and we’re super-appreciative of all of the support they have shown Cymande.
“The other key aspect of the process was finding the right producer. We internally asked ourselves ‘how do you make a classic-sounding Cymande album that’s not trying to copy what’s already been done?’ It needed to sound current. Our A&R guy Michael Orchudesch understood this challenge and was the one that led us to getting Ben Baptie to produce the album. He simply crushed it.”
Cymande made timeless music and now they’re getting to enjoy new generations falling in love with it
Keith Hagan
How busy are Cymande on this campaign?
“The group are going to be very active all year long and deep into 2026 and beyond supporting Renascence. For release week in the UK, they’re going to be quite busy. Patrick Patterson and Steve Scipio – the band’s founding members – will be doing several in store signings in and around London along with a full band performance at Prizm for Banquet Records on February 3. There was also a live session for Craig Charles on BBC 6 Music the morning before the album was released. Patrick and Steve will also be guests on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch on February 2. We have a massive global press push underway with touring to follow all year long.”
Can this album campaign bring about a revival for the band and increase interest in their catalogue? They are known as UK pioneers – how are you managing to reawaken interest in the group and reach new fans too?
“The interest for the band now is truly at an all-time high after years of preparation. This campaign really started with the debut of the band’s documentary Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande at SXSW in 2022. From there, the film flew around film festivals worldwide for almost two years playing all over the world. The director of the film, Tim Mackenzie-Smith, deserves a ton of credit here. It was his fandom of the band in the first place that inspired him to make the film. And the film is what brought the unbelievable story of Cymande to light. It’s truly amazing and fitting to hear them referred to as ‘UK pioneers’ now. I think BFI acquiring the film in the UK really finally gave the band a full UK stamp of approval after all these years. The film was the true catalyst for the reframing of their entire career.
Keith Hagan at the filming of Later... With Jools Holland
“The other wonderful aspect of what’s been happening for them is that so many of their new fans originally discovered Cymande from all of the sampling that’s happened over the years. When we started working on the release of the album and launching our first single Chasing An Empty Dream late last year, our number one goal was to land a spot for the band on Jools Holland. Remarkably the band had never ever performed on UK television in their entire career. Our amazing TV pluggers Pippa Evers and Emma Bailey at Dawbell did a wonderful job landing that look for Cymande early in the cycle. Once we got that, we all felt the project was on the right path. A brilliant way to kick off a campaign.”
There have been catalogue reissues with Partisan. How has the physical and streaming helped to prepare the ground for this album?
“Partisan Records, with our assistance, acquired the rights to the band’s first three albums several years ago. We appreciate them making those titles available on vinyl again. As far as the streaming goes, once the interest in the documentary picked up globally, our streaming numbers went up as well. Also, Cymande have been quite active on the festival circuit in Europe for the past several years including performances at All Points East, We Out Here and North Sea Jazz Festival.”
Given the acknowledgement of the band’s legacy, what are your hopes for the album chart performance week one in the UK, particularly vinyl sales?
“We really don’t have a set number that we’re shooting for with our week one chart performance. We are doing everything we can to be very visible in the UK that first week and hopefully that will yield a positive result for us. But slow and steady has always been the Cymande way, and we know this album will find its audience over time by continuing our push globally with touring, media and radio support.”
The band have a US tour in February. How strong is their live business and what are the plans for further touring?
“Our agents, Claudio Lillo at CAA and Brian Jonas at High Road Touring (North America) have done a brilliant job for Cymande. In early 2024 when we released the documentary in cinemas, the band did their first proper European tour in years to support the release of the film and we were thrilled when every single show on that tour – London, Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Amsterdam – all sold out. The London show was a sold-out Shepherd’s Bush Empire gig. It showed us that the band could really sell hard tickets rather than just playing festivals.
“We have a US tour happening right after the release date in February and we’re already planning more shows in the US for this summer. In the UK, we’ve already announced the band will be performing at Brixton Academy for the first time ever in October along with a performance at the Cross The Tracks festival in May. We're announcing a European headline tour on January 31 for this autumn as well. Plans are also in the works to return to Australia in 2026. Cymande did their first set of shows down there in early 2024, and again sold out every show. We also have a few other huge festival appearances to announce shortly. It’s going to be a huge year for Cymande.”
How did it feel for the band and their team to be honoured at last year’s Artist and Manager Awards? Was there a sense that recognition has been overdue?
“I know the acceptance, appreciation and elevation of the band’s music in the UK means the world to Patrick and Steve. They always wanted to be successful in the UK from the beginning. Even though it’s clearly taken them a little longer than they would have originally hoped for in the 70s, to have it happen at this stage is a true thrill for everyone involved with the group. They made timeless music and now they’re getting to enjoy new generations falling in love with it. On top of that, they are beyond proud of this new album they’ve created, it lives up to their legacy.
“My personal mantra to everyone who’s been involved with them has been, ‘How often do you get to break a group 50 years later?’ It’s wonderful to continue to see it build and grow for them.”
PHOTO: Dean Chalkley
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